Indonesian National Revolution

The Indonesian National Revolution, also called the Indonesian War of Independence, was the armed and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Netherlands that followed the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945. It combined guerrilla war, two large Dutch offensives, internal upheaval and intense international diplomacy. It ended on 27 December 1949, when the Netherlands transferred sovereignty over almost all of the Dutch East Indies to a new federal Indonesian state.

An Indonesian nationalist movement had grown since the early twentieth century, through organisations such as Budi Utomo, Sarekat Islam, the Indonesian National Party and the Communist Party. The decisive change came during World War II, when Japan overran the colony within three months of its first attacks. The Empire of Japan encouraged nationalist feeling for its own purposes, created Indonesian institutions and militias, and raised the profile of leaders such as Sukarno. In September 1944 Japan promised eventual independence.

Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945. Pressed by radical youth groups, the pemuda, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed independence two days later in Jakarta and were chosen as president and vice-president. Revolutionary fervour spread, and armed groups seized arms and infrastructure. In the chaotic early months, known in Dutch as the Bersiap period, Dutch internees, Eurasians, Chinese, Ambonese and others seen as enemies or collaborators were subjected to intimidation, kidnapping and killing. Estimates of the death toll range from about 3,500 to 30,000.

British and Indian troops arrived from late September 1945 to accept the Japanese surrender and free prisoners, and their presence opened the way for Dutch officials to return. Clashes soon followed. In Surabaya, after the British commander Brigadier Mallaby was killed on 30 October, British forces attacked the city from 10 November and took it after heavy fighting. The battle cost thousands of Indonesian lives but became a lasting symbol of national resistance. Unable to hold Jakarta, the Republican leadership moved to Yogyakarta, where it had the crucial support of the sultan, Hamengkubuwono IX.

The Linggadjati Agreement of November 1946 recognised Republican authority over Java, Madura and Sumatra and planned a federal United States of Indonesia, but it soon broke down. On 20 July 1947 the Dutch launched a major offensive, which they called a "police action", taking much of Java and Sumatra. International opinion turned against them; Australia and India were especially active on the Republic's behalf, and the United Nations sponsored a ceasefire and the Renville Agreement of January 1948. The Republic also faced internal crises: social revolutions against local aristocracies, a communist uprising at Madiun in September 1948 that Republican forces crushed, and the Darul Islam rebellion, which sought an Islamic state.

On 19 December 1948 the Dutch launched a second offensive, captured Yogyakarta and arrested Sukarno, Hatta and most of the cabinet. Republican forces continued a guerrilla war, and on 1 March 1949 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Suharto briefly retook Yogyakarta. The offensive provoked outrage at the United Nations and in the United States, which threatened to cut off the aid that the Netherlands needed for post-war reconstruction.

Talks at a Round Table Conference in The Hague in 1949 led the Netherlands to recognise the sovereignty of the federal United States of Indonesia, while keeping Western New Guinea for the time being. The federal states created by the Dutch were dissolved into a unitary Republic during 1950. Estimates of Indonesian deaths range from about 97,000 to 100,000, while more than 4,000 Dutch and between about 980 and 1,200 British soldiers were killed. In 2022 a major Dutch historical study concluded that Dutch forces had used extreme violence that was widespread and often deliberate, and the Dutch government apologised.

Our 1945 map shows the Dutch East Indies at the end of the Japanese occupation, and the 1960 map shows independent Indonesia.